The Great Wall of China
During the reign of Qin Shi Huang, the Huns from the north were a constant threat. They often came down to the Yellow River Basin and took land from the people in that area. To protect his people, Emperor Qin Shi Huang commanded General Meng Tian to go to battle and defeat the enemy forces. To prevent further attacks, he decided to consolidate and extend the Great Wall of China. Many people believe that it was Emperor Qin Shi Huang who first built the Great Wall, but evidence suggests that there were pieces of the wal already built before Qin's wall. The six other states has already built their own walls and Qin's wall was built by connecting parts of the existing walls and adding thousands of miles of his own. This dragon-like wall snaked across northern China from Liaodong in the east to Lintao in the west. The wall can be divided up into three sections: western, middle, and eastern. The Western section started from the Gansu Province and stretched into Inner Mongolia. The Middle section stars in Inner Mongolia and went to the north border of the Wulanbuhe desert. This part was built using much of the rubble left from the existing walls. The Eastern section started in Huade County and went to Fuxin City. This part was built on the ruins of the Yan Dynasty walls. This Great Wall of China took about nine years to finished and cost a great deal of money and lives. From a historical standpoint, the wall served as a defensive measure to protect the people from wars and ensured a peaceful and stable society. Today, the wall is one on China's greatest tourist attractions and brings in a lot of tourists.
("China Great Wall in Qin Dynasty.")
("China Great Wall in Qin Dynasty.")
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Facts About the Wall:
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Lingqu Canal |
Listen to the sounds of the Lingqu Canal
(Lingqu River Sounds) |
The Lingqu Canal, also known as Dou Canal, is located in the Xing'an County, in Southern China. After the Qin Empire unified China, Emperor Qin Shi Huang assigned Shi Lu to build a canal that would be used for grain transport. This canal, now known as the Lingqu Canal, was completed in 214 BC. It had previously provided South China with a military purpose. The canal had been used to transport the armies during periods of conflict and has since been used as the major water transport route between Lingnan and Central China until the completion of the Xianggui Railway. The design of the canal was to make use of the natural resources. Weirs, which are low dams used to raise the level of water, were used to regulate the flow and divert the canal into two other rivers. The canal was built by combining excavation and dam construction, as well as varying degrees of slopes to control the flow and the existing waterway to make this canal function. This canal displays the distinctive style and scientific achievements of ancient Chinese hydraulic projects. (UNESCO, "Lingqu Canal.")